The lead asset of Applied Genetic Technologies Corp. has been spun into Beacon Therapeutics Ltd., which launches with $120.9 million to run a phase II/III pivotal trial of AGTC-501 in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, and to take forward two other in-licensed preclinical programs in age-related macular degeneration and cone rod dystrophy.
Barring truly major surprises, exagamglogene autotemcel (Exa-cel, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.) is on track to become the first approved CRISPR-based gene editing therapy. It is partly in expectation of Exa-cel’s approval that the European Hematology Association (EHA) and the European Society for Bone Marrow Transplantation hosted a session on “transplantation versus gene therapy in sickle cell disease.”
For Jeff Galvin, the CEO and founder of newly launched Addimmune Inc., HIV is not a condition that’s in the rearview mirror. It needs a functional cure to save lives, make people healthier and save money that need not have been spent. People wonder why it’s worth bothering to cure HIV, Galvin told BioWorld, when they are taking their medications every day and they are feeling pretty close to normal. But it’s not close for Galvin, who noted that there are side effects from taking the pills that can cause headaches, fatigue, nausea and diarrhea.
Currently, there are no treatments to reverse or prevent genetic hearing loss, which affects 1 in 500 newborns. Several gene replacement and overexpression preclinical studies targeting genetic hearing loss have shown success, as the inner ear can be accessed safely by local injection. However, all these gene therapy studies have been performed in neonatal animals, except one in the Otof gene; therefore, the suitability of the approach in the fully mature adult inner ear remains to be elucidated.
Gene therapy developer Kate Therapeutics Inc. (KateTx), which is developing next-generation adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors that target skeletal and cardiac muscle, has unveiled $51 million series A round and a licensing deal with Astellas Pharma Inc.
AAVantgarde Bio SrL raised €61 million (US$65 million) in series A funding to take forward two novel approaches to gene therapy that aim to overcome the packaging limits of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. The company plans to move its lead program, in retinitis pigmentosa associated with Usher syndrome type 1b, into the clinic later this year. A second program, in Stargardt disease, is a couple of years behind it.
Researchers from Seelos Therapeutics Inc. presented the discovery and preclinical evaluation of a gene therapy candidate, SLS-009, for the treatment of Huntington’s disease (HD).
Coave Therapeutics aims to move its lead gene therapy program, CTx-PDE6b, for a form of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) into a pivotal trial in 2025 on the back of a phase I/II study, which uncovered a preliminary efficacy signal in one patient subgroup.
With overuse of opioids – the standard of care for many chronic pain cases – becoming something of an epidemic in the U.S., the availability of an alternative, non-opioid analgesic is a big draw. Established in 2021, Adolore Biotherapeutics Inc. is one company that could provide the answer, with its locally and long-acting gene therapies potentially providing a breakthrough that “knocks everybody’s socks off.”
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